5 content marketing tips for Roy Hodgson

Posted by Pete Hendrick on 24 June 2014

I’m passionate about lots of things – two of these being football and content marketing. So as I watched England crash out of the World Cup, it struck me that there are some similarities between being a great football manager and running an inspiring content marketing campaign.

If any readers out there know Roy, please pass this on to him…

Get your strategy right: Roy’s boys clearly didn’t do their homework against the Italians, allowing Pirlo the run of the pitch. Likewise with content marketing, brands will be largely wasting their time if they rush into sending a raft of random content out because ‘it’s bound to strike it lucky with someone’. Take time at the outset to agree a well thought through and focused campaign strategy.

Be consistent: The conservative England playing Uruguay appeared to be a completely different team to that challenging Italy. From a content marketing perspective, the assets you create must be varied in format and tone, but you must retain some brand consistency that makes all content synonymous with your brand personality, and makes prospects feel they are getting to know you better.

Be authentic: Roy’s claims that he didn’t make a tactical faux pas seem somewhat disingenuous to many viewers (as he clearly did). Whilst sizzle and intrigue are an important component of how brands engage with their audiences through content marketing, so are honesty and authenticity. Check our Tech Heads study for more on how we all want to deal with ‘humanised brands’.

Assemble the right team: Did Roy put out our best 11? Some are questioning whether more experienced players should have been fielded for such high-pressure games. Similarly, marketing directors embarking on content marketing campaigns need to have the right team in place – whether that be purely in-house or using suppliers. Planners, creatives, copywriters, digital specialists, data managers (stattos in football lingo) and PRs all have a role to play.

Show some flair!: England’s World Cup was ultimately fruitless from a points perspective. But the Italy game got the nation behind Roy’s boys as they demonstrated flair and ambition. From a content marketing perspective in competitive technology markets, it is important to differentiate and make prospects want to engage. Marketing-automation platforms, targeted personas and busy content calendars ultimately won’t get you very far if you forget to add the ‘special sauce’ to your content and comms.

A big thanks to Leo Cosendai from Third Ear for bringing sound meditation & modern mindfulness to our office today. All the Octopedes who attended had an amazing experience. #WellnessDay https://t.co/Ic3mhGFw3W